Range hood with overlay panels

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and method for a range hood that provides light to a range top. The apparatus can include a flue, a capture sump coupled to the flue, and one or more overlay panels coupled to the capture sump. The range hood can also include one or more lights that shine light through the overlay panels, through the capture sump, and onto the range top. The range hood can further include a circulation/lighting unit for providing light and removing cooking effluent from the range top.

BACKGROUND

Conventional range hoods are designed to provide light to a range topand to ventilate air (or cooking effluent) from the cooking area abovethe range top. Conventional range hoods generally cannot be customizedto coordinate with their environment.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the invention includes a range hood that can providelight to a range top. The range hood can include a flue, a capture sumpcoupled to the flue, and one or more overlay panels coupled to thecapture sump. The range hood can also include one or more lights thatshine light through the overlay panels, through the capture sump, andonto the range top. The range hood can further include acirculation/lighting unit for providing light and removing cookingeffluent from the range top.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a method of installing one ormore overlay panels in a range hood. The method can include providingone or more overlay panels, positioning one or more stand-offs on acapture sump, positioning the overlay panels over the stand-offs andbetween the capture sump and one or more lights, and fastening theoverlay panels to the capture sump.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration ofthe detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a range hood having overlay panelsaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is side view of the range hood of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the range hood of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the range hood of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited in its application tothe details of construction and the arrangement of components set forthin the following description or illustrated in the following drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood thatthe phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, theterms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variationsthereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirectmountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected”and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connectionsor couplings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a range hood 10 according to one embodiment of theinvention. The range hood 10 can include a flue 12, acirculation/lighting unit 14, one or more chandelier lights 16, acapture sump 18, and one or more overlay panels 20.

The flue 12 can include a bracket 22 that can be used to attach therange hood 10 to a ceiling. The bracket 22 can include one or more holesthat can allow ducting to pass through. Ducting or recirculationcomponents (not shown) can be positioned within an interior portion ofthe flue 12, along with any suitable fan (not shown). The fan can bepositioned in a lower portion of the flue 12 above thecirculation/lighting unit 14. The flue 12 can include a first, smallerconcentric portion 24 and a second, larger concentric portion 26. A lip28 can be formed between the first concentric portion 24 and the secondconcentric portion 26. The flue 12 can include one or more flat surfaces29 that can extend along at least a portion of the height of the flue12. In some embodiments, one or more chandelier lights 16 can be coupledto the flat surfaces 29. The flue 12 can be at least partiallyconstructed of a decorative material, such as stainless steel, paintedmetal, copper, Corian®, ceramic tile, etc. The flue 12 can be mounted toa wall for a stand-alone range or a range top adjacent a wall or to aceiling for a range located on an island cabinet. In some embodiments,when the range hood 10 is secured to a wall, the flue 12 can be attachedto the ceiling and the capture sump 18 can be coupled to the wall foradditional stability.

The chandelier lights 16 can include one or more chandelier connectors30 that can be coupled to the flue 12. The chandelier lights 16 can alsoinclude one or more cantilever bars 32 that can be coupled to thechandelier connectors 30. The chandelier lights 16 can further includeone or more cables 34 (or tubes), one or more shade connectors 36, andone or more shades 38. The cables 34 can be coupled to the cantileverbars 32 and the shade connectors 36. The shades 38 can be coupled to theshade connectors 36. The shades 38 can have any suitable shape, such asa cone-shape with one or more concave edges 39. The shade connectors 36can include a recess (such as a threaded recess or a bi-pin for halogenlights) to receive any suitable light bulb (such as a low-voltagechandelier light bulb). The cables 34 can have a suitable length inorder to position the shades 38 an appropriate distance from the overlaypanels 20 (e.g., between one inch and ten inches) in order to shine anadequate amount of light through the overlay panels 20 and the capturesump 18 onto the range top (not shown). The shades 38 should bepositioned far enough from the overlay panels 20 in order to preventscorching of the overlay panels 20, but close enough to the overlaypanels 20 to provide an adequate amount of light to the range top. Also,the type of light bulbs used can depend on the position of the shades38, the material of the overlay panels 20, and/or the material of thecapture sump 18.

The capture sump 18 can be secured between the flue 12 and thecirculation/lighting unit 14 in any suitable manner, such as with one ormore bolts 40. As shown in FIG. 3, external portions 42 of thecirculation/lighting unit 14 can also provide support for a centralportion or any other suitable portion of the capture sump 18. Thecapture sump 18 can be constructed of a material including glass, suchas substantially-transparent, tempered, heat-resistant glass. Thecapture sump 18 can also be constructed of other materials that do notinclude glass. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1-4, the capturesump 18 can have an arched rectangular shape. In one embodiment, thecapture sump 18 can have a substantially-flat horizontal portion withvertical edges positioned perpendicular to the horizontal portion. Inother embodiments, the capture sump 18 can have any suitable shape, suchas a semi-circular shape, a polygonal shape, a round shape (e.g.,suitable for above an island cabinet), an oval shape (e.g., alsosuitable for above an island cabinet), etc. Also, any of these shapesare suitable for an arched configuration, such as an arched semi-circle,an arched polygon, an arched circle, an arched oval, etc. In general,the capture sump 18 can have any shape and configuration in order totrap cooking effluent. The capture sump 18 can also have differentoverall widths to accommodate different spaces between cabinets anddifferent sizes of range tops.

As shown in FIG. 3, the overlay panels 20 can be coupled to the capturesump 18 by one or more stand-offs 44. Any suitable fastener, such asbolts 46, can be positioned through the overlay panels 20, through thestand-offs 44, and through the capture sump 18. In some embodiments,rubber grommets can be used with the stand-offs 44 and the bolts 46.Other suitable fasteners, such as heat-resistant adhesives, can be usedto secure the overlay panels 20 to the stand-offs 44. In someembodiments, the overlay panels 20 can be coupled directly to thecapture sump 18 without the use of stand-offs 44. In some embodiments,the overlay panels 20 can be constructed of “art glass” panels havingvarious designs that can be easily interchanged. For example, the rangehood 10 can be sold with one or more overlay panels 20 that can bechosen by the customer from several decorative art glass designsaccording to the decorative environment of the stand-alone range orrange top. The customer can easily change or replace the overlay panels20. In some embodiments, the stand-offs 44 can include spring clips (notshown) that can temporarily support the overlay panels 20 duringinstallation. The overlay panels 20 can have an arched rectangular shapethat can correspond to a portion of the capture sump 18 over which theoverlay panels 20 are positioned. In some embodiments, the overlaypanels 20 can be constructed of a non-tempered, decorative, fused glassthat is less heat-resistant than the glass of the capture sump 18. Lightfrom the chandelier lights 16 can shine through the overlay panels 20,through the capture sump 18, and onto the range top. If the overlaypanels 20 have a particular design or coloring, the light from thechandelier lights 16 will be filtered by the design or coloring.

The circulation/lighting unit 14 can include a filter 48 through whichthe fan positioned within the flue 12 can draw the cooking effluenttrapped by the capture sump 18. The filter 48 can include any suitablenumber and configuration of louvers. The circulation/lighting unit 14can include a control panel 50 that can include a first face 52 that canextend in a forward direction from a second face 54. Thecirculation/lighting unit 14 can include one or more light fixtures 56that can be recessed, in some embodiments. The control panel 50 caninclude any one or more of the following: one or more controls, one ormore indicator lights, one or more timers, a digital clock, etc. Thecontrols can be used to control the fan, the chandelier lights 16,and/or the recessed light fixtures 56. In some embodiments, the firstface 52 and the second face 54 can each have a semi-circular shape. Insome embodiments, the circulation/lighting unit 14 can include a bodyportion 58 that extends the semi-circular shape from the second face 54to a third, rearward face 60. The circulation/lighting unit 14 can becoupled to the capture sump 18 with the bolts 40 and/or to the flue 12with any suitable fasteners.

Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in thefollowing claims.

1. A range hood for providing light to a range top, the range hoodcomprising: a flue; a capture sump coupled to the flue; at least oneoverlay panel coupled to the capture sump; at least one light thatshines light through the at least one overlay panel, through the capturesump, and onto the range top.
 2. The range hood of claim 1 wherein theat least one overlay panel is coupled to the capture sump with at leastone stand-off.
 3. The range hood of claim 1 wherein the capture sump isconstructed of a first glass that is a substantially-transparent,tempered, heat-resistant glass.
 4. The range hood of claim 3 wherein theat least one overlay panel is constructed of a second glass that is anon-tempered, decorative, fused glass and that is less heat-resistantthan the first glass of the capture sump.
 5. The range hood of claim 1wherein the at least one overlay panel is constructed of a removable andinterchangeable decorative glass.
 6. The range hood of claim 1 whereinthe at least one light includes a cantilever bar coupled to the flue, acable coupled to the cantilever bar, and a shade coupled to the cable.7. The range hood of claim 1 and further comprising acirculation/lighting unit that is in communication with a fan thatremoves cooking effluent from an area above the range top, thecirculation/lighting unit including at least one recessed light fixture.8. The range hood of claim 7 wherein the circulation/lighting unit has asemi-circular cylindrical shape.
 9. The range hood of claim 1 whereinthe capture sump has an arched rectangular shape.
 10. The range hood ofclaim 9 wherein the at least one overlay panel includes a first overlaypanel with a rectangular shape positioned on a first side of the flueand a second overlay panel with a rectangular shape positioned on asecond side of the flue.
 11. The range hood of claim 10 wherein the atleast one light includes a first light positioned above the firstoverlay panel and a second light positioned above the second overlaypanel.
 12. The range hood of claim 1 wherein at least one of the capturesump and the at least one overlay panel has a semi-circular shape, acircular shape, a polygonal shape, or an oval shape.
 13. The range hoodof claim 1 wherein the flue has a cylindrical shape and includes afirst, smaller concentric portion and a second, larger concentricportion.
 14. The range hood of claim 1 wherein the flue includes atleast one flat surface to which the at least one light is coupled. 15.The range hood of claim 1 wherein the at least one light includes ashade having a cone shape and at least one concave edge.
 16. A method ofinstalling at least one overlay panel of a range hood, the methodcomprising: positioning at least one stand-off on a capture sump;positioning at least one overlay panel over the at least one stand-offand between the capture sump and at least one light; and fastening theat least one overlay panel to the capture sump.
 17. The method of claim16 and further comprising removing the at least one overlay from thecapture sump and fastening at least one new overlay panel onto thecapture sump.
 18. The method of claim 16 and further comprisingpositioning a first overlay panel on a first side of a flue and a secondoverlay panel on a second side of the flue.
 19. The method of claim 18and further comprising positioning a first light over the first overlaypanel and a second light over the second overlay panel.
 20. The methodof claim 16 and further comprising trapping cooking effluent with thecapture sump and removing the cooking effluent with a fan.